FINAL ASSIGNMENT

Course Name: Literary Criticism

Course code : ENG338

Submitted To : Morshedul Arefin

Submitted by: Humayra Sanjum Yasin
Student Id : 211000403
Date: 28-12-2022
 Shakespeare as a poet of nature in A Midsummer
Night's  Dream

The term "human nature" refers to the basic tendencies and qualities, such as thought,

emotion, and behavior patterns, that are considered to be present in all people by nature. The

expression is frequently used to refer to the essence of humanity or what it "means" to be

human.Human nature has six traits: emotion, rebellion, chaos, a need to work hard to get

what we desire, and self-image.

According to Samuel Johnson, Shakespeare is the poet of nature, the poet who holds up to

this readers an accurate mirror of manners and of life.He is above all writers, at least above

all modern writers.Shakespeare is an universal poet . Johnson alludes to both aesthetic and

ethical principles when he refers to himself as a "poet of nature."

A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of the famous plays of Shakespeare. It acknowledges

both the possibility of humans coexisting peacefully with beautiful environment and the risk

of mankind coexisting violently with nature. Love, fantasy, and patriarchy are the three main

themes of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Samuel Johnson's revelation of the universality of Shakespeare's plays' main style is among

his most significant contributions to Shakespearean scholarship. Shakespeare is deemed to be

a "poet of nature," which means that via his writings, he represents life—the real life and

manners.

Shakespeare is a poet of nature, and his plays accurately reflect human nature. He does not

distort the truth. Shakespeare is a poet of nature in part because his characters exhibit human
traits in their actions, speech, and thought. His characters are accurate portrayals of people.

He works with human feelings and universal ideas. He does more than just portray the

distinctive mannerisms and practices of a single nation or era.

Not just kings and Romans are among his characters. They are more than just people. As a

result, everyone can relate to his characters. However, this does not imply that they lack any

unique features. One character's words cannot be put into the mouth of another, and their

speeches make it simple to tell them apart from one another. His choice of dialogue "seems to

have been gleaned by diverse selection of common discourse and common situations,"

according to one reviewer. They also accurately reflect their own age, sex, and job. They also

fit their mold.

Johnson asserts that the fundamental prerequisite for artistic grandeur is fidelity to the laws of

nature. Shakespeare has many of examples of this. The neo-classical critics' catchphrase was

"just portrayal of general nature." His characters are not altered by regional practices that are

unknown to the rest of the world, by the particularities of fields of study or professions that

can only affect a small number of people, or by the accidents of passing trends or fleeting

viewpoints; rather, they are the true offspring of everyday humanity, such as observation will

always uncover. In other words, Shakespeare's writing has been lauded for its universality by

Johnson.

Johnson continues by praising Shakespeare's portrayal. His characters, according to him, "act

and speak by the influence of those general passions and principles by which all minds are

aroused, and the whole system of life is perpetuated in action. The neo-classical creed, "Just

depiction of general nature," has as its implication that human nature, or at least the refined
human nature, is a perennial part of nature. The reason a great artist's creation has an

enduring artistic appeal is because of this universality.

Shakespeare's appeal has withstood the harsh test of time and its change in tastes because he

does not emphasize only on the particular characteristic of a particular age; instead, he

focuses his attention on the common nature of men, their general traits, emotions, passions,

and manners of life which are to be found in men at all times in all countries. A poet's

universality depends on whether he is general or particular with regard to his treatment of

characters. Johnson cannot be argued against on this point because Shakespeare does indeed

capture the essence of human nature.

Shakespeare had a thorough understanding of human psychology and its mechanisms.

Conscious, subconscious, and unconscious minds make up the human mind. Shakespeare

attempted naturally to depict this mental split in his play "A Midsummer Night's

Dream".Patriarchy, love, and fantasy are the three fundamental themes of A Midsummer

Night's Dream. As the "mechanicals," or gang of players, agreed to hold their rehearsal inside

the woods at midnight as well as Lysander and Hermia resolved to elope together at

midnight, the woods or forest in his play signifies the world of unconscious mind. The

unconscious mind is active at midnight, as evidenced by the fact that people often run into the

woods during that time.

Additionally, the figure of Theseus represents the domain of consciousness because he

discovered the characters dozing off in the forest, and his command to blow the "horn"

awakens them while they are thinking about their sensations of consciousness.

Shakespeare's characterizations reveal the human nature of his characters. A natural

projection of human inclinations like id, ego, and super ego is shown in Shakespeare's

character. The character of Helena in "A Mid Summer's Night Dream" exhibited the id

instinct when she wanted to tell Demetrius about Lysander and Hermia's elopement so that

Demetrius would fall in love with her. The Superego is a morals principle or conscience that

can be shown in Hermia's character when she responded to a circumstance in the forest by

expressing her conscience about not sleeping next to Lysander because she is single.

Shakespeare's intellectual core is revealed by Samuel Johnson, who also uncovers

Shakespeare's profound humanity and stunning naturalism. Therefore, Johnson's claim

regarding Shakespeare can be regarded to be accurate.

 REFERENCE

1. adminNotes. (2020, August 25). William Shakespeare as a poet of human nature.

GetSetNotes. Retrieved December 28, 2022, from https://getsetnotes.com/william-

shakespeare-as-a-poet-of-human-nature/

2. Emily. (2019, September 5). Johnson as a critic of Shakespeare. Lit Aid. Retrieved

December 28, 2022, from https://litaid.com/johnson-as-a-critic-of-shakespeare/

3. (2015).Google.com.

https://www.allresearchjournal.com/archives/2015/vol1issue2/PartA/46.1-872.pdf